Live Abundantly Anyway!
John 10:10 (ESV)
The thief comes to steal and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 16:33 (NLT)
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.
Devotional
Life can be scary. There! I said it. Despite the realities of the day, we can do what our hearts are begging to do and learn to live abundantly anyway. So, it’s in our best interest to face what’s slowing us down and blocking our progress.
We can live better and more completely than we’re living right now. It seems like a strange thing to think about given all that’s happening in the world. Strange indeed, but nevertheless true. We can live life well because of the peace that God provides. He brings peace in the midst of chaos and His peace gives us life.
We have an enemy who has convinced us that thinking about abundance at a time like this is a confirmation that we’re uninformed and self-serving. Nothing could be further from the truth.
We all have troubles, issues, and difficulties, and have in some way seen our own version of ‘hard times’. COVID-19, cancer treatments, unemployment, under-employment, natural disasters, family deaths, difficult supervisors, unending work, family stress, and a host of other challenges have the potential to bear down on us and cause us to lose sight of what God wants us to remember. Christ came so that we can live- not just after we die and go to Heaven. We can live our very best lives right now- in our current circumstances.
Today we can choose to make God bigger than our issues. Be clear- He’s already bigger than we can imagine, but that’s what’s at issue. Our versions of God are usually too small. We’ve placed Him in the resealable container of our minds and reduced what we believe about what He can accomplish in and through us to mere inches. He’s so much more than that and cannot be contained.
Now is the time to change the way we think about God. And, now is the time to change the way we think about ourselves. This is the moment when we can begin to live like we win instead of living as though we lose. We don’t have to take the Enemy’s bait. He’s clear that he loses. So, we need to be clear that we’re on the team that prevails. We win because Christ sealed that victory for us (John 3:16). We can do everything that God has in mind for us to do. There’s a lot happening, but we can learn to live abundantly anyway, right NOW!
Prayer
Lord, Thank you that circumstances don’t move You. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever, so we are safe in Your arms today and forever. Thank you for the peace in the midst of our storms. We don’t have to be moved by these things that happen to us. We can trust You to take care of us by living our best lives now.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Live well,
Michele
Also Read “More Than This”
So thankful that I can lean on the Lord during these hard times when I feel weak
Amen, Kim!
Thanks for sharing. I really needed this reminder, that GOD is!! And the Lord is my Shepherd. Amen..
So glad that you were encouraged by this, Mrs. Turley.